Senior living complexes bought for $51.1 million

Veranda Park and Anna Maria Creekside retirement complexes have been sold to a McMinnville-based company that promises few, if any, changes at two of Medford's larger over-55 communities.

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By MARK FREEMAN

MailTribune.com

By MARK FREEMAN

Posted May. 30, 2014 at 12:01 AM
Updated May 30, 2014 at 2:30 AM

By MARK FREEMAN

Posted May. 30, 2014 at 12:01 AM
Updated May 30, 2014 at 2:30 AM

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Veranda Park and Anna Maria Creekside retirement complexes have been sold to a McMinnville-based company that promises few, if any, changes at two of Medford's larger over-55 communities.

The $51.1 million sale closed Wednesday with The Springs Living LLC, a company that owns and operates eight similar-sized retirement communities in the Salem and Portland metropolitan areas.

Springs Living owner and founder Fee Stubblefield said management of the properties will turn over July 1.

The properties, which were built and majority-owned by Mike Mahar, were never on the market and negotiations with Stubblefield occurred while Mahar and co-owners Randy Jones and Larry Horton were in the process of refinancing them.

Mahar, whose parents and mother-in-law live at Veranda Park, said selling the properties was "a very emotional decision" but that Stubblefield's company fit the mold as a worthy buyer.

"This was a very, very weighty decision because we wanted only the right company that has the core values we have," Mahar told the Mail Tribune. "They actually came to us and (the sale) seemed like the right thing to do.

"To have a company of this caliber coming in and wanting to do it makes all the difference," Mahar said.

Stubblefield said it took him "all of five minutes" during his initial visits to Veranda Park and Anna Maria Creekside to become sold on buying the two properties, which he described as well-built and well-run.

"We are very impressed by the staff," Stubblefield said. "The satisfaction of the residents dictate the staff.

"We want to just continue the quality that exists here," he said. "Change will depend upon what the residents want and the residents need."

Veranda Park, on Thrasher Lane off East McAndrews Road, opened in 2007 with 220,000 square feet of facilities, including 113 apartments and 28 cottages, all rented monthly. Recorded deeds show it sold for $31.1 million.

The 102-apartment Anna Maria Creekside was built in 1999 at 822 Golf View Drive. Records show it sold for $20 million.

Jones was a co-owner with Mahar and Horton in the Veranda Park project but not in Anna Maria Creekside, records show.

Along with the eight other Oregon retirement communities, Springs Living owns and operates two similar communities in Montana, Stubblefield said.

Mahar said the sale allows Mahar Homes to return to its core business of building homes and business complexes.

Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 541-776-4470, or email at mfreeman@mailtribune.com.